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Misplaced Confidence

Have you ever noticed most quotes regarding confidence focus on ‘me’? I am going to rise above this. I am better than this. No one is going to put me down. Confidence seems to be a huge issue these days. People don’t have enough confidence in what they do. Kids don’t have enough confidence in who they are. The country doesn’t have confidence in the state of the economy. I wonder if the reason we have such a lack of confidence, is because we are putting our confidence in the wrong things.

From experience, I have found the last person I want to have confidence in is me! I fail, I fall, and I make bad choices all the time. My brain fizzles, my body is slowly getting older, and I have never been witty. I am not responsible for the face God gave me, why glory in it? I am not accountable for being born healthy and whole, why take credit for it? The knowledge I do have is not of my own making, but a gift other people have instilled in me.

Here in America, especially, it seems we favor the notion of self-confidence. Yet, if you look at the state of our nation, we have the highest failure rate in our schools. If we are so confident in what we are, why aren’t we performing better?

Again, I would argue that we are putting our confidence in the wrong place. Our confidence needs to lie in something other than us; it needs to lie in God.

When we have confidence in the Lord, we don’t have to rely on our own strength; His strength is enough (Phil. 4:13). When we have confidence in the Lord, we have no reason to fear; He is our helper (Heb. 13:6). Confidence in the Lord promises reward (Heb. 10:35-36), it guides us (Prov. 3:6), and grants peace (Romans 15:13). There is nothing we cannot do through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Whether it is through our work, our homeschooling, our marriage, or just everyday life; we need to remember to have confidence. Not confidence that lies in ourselves but confidence in the One who will never fail. True confidence is in Christ and Christ alone.

“For the LORD will be your confidence And will keep your foot from being caught.”
~Proverbs 3:26

Chime In!: Do you struggle with confidence issues? What reminds you of where your confidence lies?

13 thoughts on “Misplaced Confidence”

What a wonderful blog post and real food for life. I truly enjoyed this post. Yes, we all struggle with confidence, and in this day and age we are always told to build ourselves up and gain confidence or fake it till we make it. It’s not right, that does not humble us in the eyes of the Lord. We should turn all things humbly to him. All glory to his name for all things he has done.

Thank you for this post! I will be following your blog! I can’t wait to read more!

You are absolutely, 100% spot on with this. Especially with deluding ourselves that anything we ‘have’ or possess– be it knowledge, our own bodies– are not things we have brought about by our own doings, and are certainly not worthy of our confidence.

I had a panic attack last night. A real one–fear overwhelmed me, I was crying, shaking, thinking the worst. I didn’t say to myself, “I am great. Look at how good I am. I am awesome.” Instead I said to myself, “Lord you are the strength of my heart. My flesh will fail but you are my portion. You lead me through dark valleys. You are with me.” With that said, sometimes I get really annoyed when Christians go the other direction and make it seem as if we are all a bunch of pieces of junk and we should walk around feeling we are terrible. “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who gives me strength” is something I find balances me out.

This is a great reminder of putting my trust in the Lord. I can easily become fearful when I hear of war, shootings, peer pressure, or corrupt governments. But when I step back and remember that God is in control over ALL things, I remember that it is not about what I can do about it, but what HE is doing. Thanks for a wonderful post. Blessings.